Feed mechanism for carding-engines.



PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

D. G. FISHER. FEED MECHANISM FOR OARDING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SE?T.27 1906.

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PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

' D. C. FISHER. FEED MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27,1906.

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'PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

D. c. FISHER. FEED MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 8 13127, 1906.

6 SHEBT8-SHEET 3 No 872,719. PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

D. G. FISHER. FEED MECHANISM FOR OARDING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27,1906.

6 SHEETSSHEBT 4.

No. 872,719. PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

, D. G. FISHER.

FEED MECHANISM FOR GARDING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1906.

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DANIEL O. FISHER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FEED MECHANISM FOR CARDING-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed September 27, 1906- Serial No. 336396.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL (J. FIsHER, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed Mechanisms for ()arding-Engines, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for feeding fibrous stock to carding engines, and

has particular reference to that type of such machines in which the stock or staple is placed in a receiving chamber and is trans ferred by suitable transferring mechanism to the delivering device which carries the stock to the carding engine.

It frequently happens that the manufacturer finds it necessary to combine several different kinds of material, such as cotton and wool and shoddy in the manufacture of yarn; and in order to do this successfully it is highly important that the feeding machine shall have the property of .amalgamating or mixing the different fibers so that the proportions that have been predetermined shall be distributed uniformly. This is also found to be very desirable in the mixing of stock where various colors are blended in the raw material, and has an important bearing in the shading of the manufactured yarn. In the construction of the present mechanism, particular reference is made to this feature, in order to insure not only uniform mixing, but also a uniform delivery in other words, uniform regularity in weight and a perfect blending of colors and material.

Of the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 re )resents an elevation of a complete machine embodying my invention, a portion of the side of the frame or receiving chamber being broken out to show the structure of the transferring apron. Fig. 2 represents an elevation from the side of the machine opposite to that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a detail view of portions of the mechanism for automatically controlling the emp- Fig. 4 represents a detail view of the weighing pan and ,he levers which control it, the bottom of the pan being open. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 55 of Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 represents a detail view of the segment for actuaiing the matter. Fig. 7 represents a detail view, partly in section, of the mechanism for actuating the matter.

Fig. 8 represents a detail view looking from the left of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 represents a detail elevation of the upper portion of the frame of the machine, the side being broken out, and illustrating the preferred form of stripping comb and the means for actuating the same. Fig. lOrepresents a detail view of the opening comb and stripping comb in the positions which said combs occupy relatively to the transferring apron when in position for acting upon the fibers carried by said apron. Fig. 11 represents a detail view of the mechanism for automatically disconnecting the driving power from the transferring apron. Fig. 12 represents a view similar to Fig. 11, showing some of the parts in a different position. Fig. 13 represents a detail view, looking from the left of Fig. 11, showing the pawls. Fig. 14 represents a pers ective view of the pawl-retaining latch.

T e same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

The frame of the machine is provided with side plates 20, said frame being supported upon adjustable feet 21. by means of which the machine may be adjusted. to suit the height of the carding or other machine to which it is to supply material.

The transferring apron 22 is mounted upon sprockets 23 and 24 carried by upper and lower shafts 23 and 24 respectively, the lower sprocket being, as usual, located near the bottom of the receiving chamber, said bottom being indicated by dotted lines 25 in Figs. 1 and 2. The apron comprises slats 26 having pointed pins 27, said slats being riveted or otherwise secured to links 28 of endless chains. Said chains may be of the form known as the Ewart detachable chain, the structure of which being well known need not be illustrated. in detail herein. As the links of said chain are always adapted to be engaged by the teeth of the sprockets over which they pass, it will readily be understood that there can be no relative slipping of either chain to which the slats are attached, and consequently, when the parts are properly assembled, the said slats will always pass over their carrying sprockets in perfect parallelism with the axes of the shafts on which said sprockets are mounted. This structure avoids any possibility of one side of the apron being advanced a little beyond the other, which would result in a bending of the several slats.

the slats, and occasional breaking of the same, as they pass over the sprockets. They travel smoothly and uniformly and insure a. uniform supply of stock to the stripping comb.

The pointed pins 27 of the slats are relatively situated with perfect uniformity each alternate slat has its pins so arranged as to follow in the spaces between the pins of the preceding slat. For instance, the distance betweenthe pins on the first slat being approximately two and one-half inches, and the same distance existing between the pins of the second slat, it will be clear that when these pins are set in the form commonly termed staggered, there will remain a space of one and one-fourth inches between the paths of travel followed by the pins of It is to be understood of course that this plan of relative arrangement of the pins of the slats is followed throughout all of the slats of the apron, and it will therefore be apparent that in the action of the apron upon the material in the feed box, very little, if any, of the material is left untouched. This structure enables the one machine to be adapted for wide diversity of stock and avoids the necessity for providing special structures to suit the particular stock that is to be operated upon.

My improved apron, cooperating with other devices embodied in my present invention as hereinafter described, enables one machine to treat all classes of fibers with uniform satisfaction. Another important feature of my improved machine is the opening comb 29 which comprises a single blade or plate of metal formed with triangular points so spaced as to accurately alternate with the paths of travel of the pins of the transferring apron, as clearly indicated in Fig. 10. Referring to Fig. 9, said comb 29 is secured to a strip 30 which in turn is car ried by arms 31 mounted upon a rock-shaft 32, one end of which, as shown in Fig. 1, is provided with an arm 33. Said arm 33 is connected by a link 34 with a crank-pin 35 carried by a gear 36 mounted on a stud shaft 37 supported by the frame of the machine. The gear 36 is driven by a pinion 38 mounted on a shaft 39, which latter shaft may be driven by any suitable means (not shown), and which may therefore be considered the driving shaft of the machine.

The machine as illustrated in Fig. 1, includes a stripper formed as a drum 40 having pins 41 adapted to act in the usual manner upon the material on the down stretch of the transferring a ron. The said drum is carried by a sha 't 42 mounted in the frame of the machine and having a pinion 43 meshing with a gear 44 which is secured on the upper sprocket shaft 23. By these connections, the stripping drum will be actuated continu ously so long as the transferring apron is moving. But in place of the drum 40, I premounted u on a strip 46 which is secured tov arms 47 o a rock-shaft 48, said rock-shaft being supported by the frame of the machine and having an arm 49 connected by a link 50 with one arm of a bell-crank lever 51, the other arm of which is connected by link 34 with the crank-pin 35 illustrated in Fig. 1. This preferred structure, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, provides two oscillating combs which act in unison. The 0 ening comb 29, as it oscillates between t ev extremes of movement indicated by the dotted curved line in Fig. 9, permits only a predetermined quantity of stock to be transferred from the receiving chamber over to the other side to be stripped from the transferring apron so that it will drop into the weighing pan, the said comb 29 in its downward movement removing surplus stock and carrying it downward. The comb 29, instead of having its acting edge or points extending parallel with the transferring apron, is curved so that the points extend toward the apron so that they intersect the pins projecting from the slats of the transferring apron and avoid any liability of the fibers becoming impaled upon, or adhering to, the points of the comb as it oscillatesover the surface of the transferring apron, said comb taking a firm hold of the fibers and carrying back the surplus from the surface of the transferring apron, the curvature of the points preventing any of the fibers following the comb on its return motion. By referring to Fig. 10, it will be observed that the points of the comb 29 are triangular. This permits the points to be made sulficiently sharp to engage the fibers, and yet said points have wide enough bases to possess ample strength for the purpose for which they are designed. Moreover, the tapering sides of the points prevent the fibers from passing so far back between the points as to remain on the comb.

The stripping comb 45 is preferably formed as shown in Fig. 10, said comb having a serrated or toothed surface with properly spaced deeper recesses for the passage of the pins of the transferring apron, the sides of said deeper recesses being substantially par allel with each other, whereby the serrated points or teeth of said stripping comb practically fill the spaces between the teeth of the transferring apron and remove all fibers from saidpins. to the comb 29 to prevent the fibers from following it on its rearward stroke. Said comb 45, like the comb 29, projects toward the transferring apron instead of having its teeth parallel with the latter when in acting position, and its structure is such that it may be adjusted into very close relation with the slats of the transferring apron so as to effectually remove from the ins of the apron all of the material carried t iereby.

The operation of the transferring apron is intermittent, and I shall now describe the means whereby said operation is controlled by the movements of the scale or weighing pan :Referring to Fig. 2, bearings 52 and 53 are provided for a vertical shaft 54, said shaft having a bevel pinion 55 secured to its lower end, said bevel pinion meshing with a bevel pinion 56 secured to a stud shaft 57. A gear 58 on the shaft 57 meshes with, and is driven by, a pinion 59 on the driving shaft 39. Consequently said shaft 54 is driven continuously. Loosely mounted on the shaft 54 above the bearing 52 is a bevel pinion 6O meshing with a bevel gear 61 which is secured on the upper sprocket shaft 23. The bevel pinion is provided with a clutch member 62 illustrated as comprising crown teeth. Cooperating with this clutch member 62 is a clutch member 63 at the lower end of a sleeve 64, which is splined on the upper end of the snaft 54 (see Figs. 11 and 12 in connection with Fig. 2). An elbow lever 65 pivoted at 66 to the frame of the machine, the upper arm of said lever being provided with a yoke having pins or rollers engaging an annular groove in the sleeve 64 so that oscillations of the elbow lever will connect and disconnect the clutch members to cause the upper sprocket shaft and the transferring apron to be driven by means of the shaft 54 when the clutch members are in engagement and to permit the transferring apron to re main stationary when the clutch members are separated.

The lower or pawl-carrying arm 67 of the elbow lever is formed with a yoke 68 (see Figs. 11, 12 and 13). Two pawls 69 and 70 are mounted on a pivot shaft 71 carried by the yoke 68, and the upper ends 690 and 700 re s pectively, of said pawls, are shouldered so as to be engaged by a latch 72 (Fig. 14) pivoted at 73 to an arm projecting from the yoke 68. hen the latch 7 is in the position shown in Fig. 11, it will hold both pawls in the position shown in that figure, but when the latch is released by being pushed upward, both pawls are permitted to drop toward the position shown in Fig. 12. The pawl-retaining latch. 72 is provided with an adjustable stop 74, shown as a screw, the lower end of said stop being in the path of movement of an elbow lever 75 pivoted at 76 to the yoke 68 and having an arm 77 which is provided with a pin 78 extending through it so as to lie across the front faces of the upper ends 690 and 700 respectively, of the pawls 69 and 70. The lever 75 is connected by a link 79 to one of the scale beam levers 80 (see Figs. 2 and 4). The scale beam. lovers are mounted on knifeedge fulcrums 81 and at one end carry the scale pan 82, and at the other ends are provided with counter-balances 83. It will now be understood that when the scale pan descends by reason of the predetermined quantity of stock having been deposited therein, the link 79 is caused to move upwardly so as to shift the lever 75 from the position shown in Fig. 11 to that shown in Fig. 12. The first movement of the lever 75 causes the ends of the pin 78 to move away from the upper ends of the pawls and the last portion of the rock ing movement of the lever 75 raises the latch 72 so as to permit the pawls to shift or drop quickly over to the position shown in Fig. 12, for a purpose which I shall now describe.

An oscillating arm 84 is pivoted at 85 to the frame of the machine and is continuously swung back and forth by means of an eccentric strap 86 which surrounds a suitably formed eccentric secured to the shaft 54, said strap 86 being connected to a lug 87, pivoted at 88 to the arm 84 by means of an adjustable connection 89. The arm 84 is provided with a tooth 90 formed as a plate vertically adjustable on said arm to take up wear, said tooth 90 being in the path of movement of the pawl 69. Secured to the frame of the machine is a bracket 91 having a tooth 92 located in the path of movement of the pawl 71 (see Fig. 13). As will be understood, the arm 84 oscillates continuously and so long as the pawls are in the position shown in Fig. 11, the clutch-shifting lever 65 will not be actuated and the clutch members will remain in engagement and the transferring apron will be in operation. But as soon as the predetermined quantity of stock has been deposited in the scale pan, downward movement of the latter causes the link 79 to oscillate the lever 75 so that the first movement of the arm 84 to the right will cause the teeth 90 to engage the pawl 69 and throw the lever 65 to the position shown in Fig. 12, thereby disconnecting the clutch members and permitting the transferring apron to stop. It is essential of course that the clutch members shall remain separated for a certain length of time, and in order to hold the lever 65 in the position just described, the pawl 70 drops behind the fixed tooth 92 as shown in Fig. 12, the parts then remaining in the position shown in Fig. 12 until a downward movement of the link 79 oscillates the lever 75 so that the ends of the pin 78 will act against the faces of the upper ends of the pawls to swing them back into position where their shouldered upper ends will be automatically engaged by the latch 72 and held again in the position shown in Fig. 11, the clutch members being then reengaged and the operation of the transferring apron proceeding to fill the scale pan. The pan, however, is not designed to always empty itself as soon as it drops, but only according to the action of the compressor or matter which I shall presently describe. In other words, the amount of stock as it is compressed upon the feed apron which dei it preferably consists of a number of endless chains to which a series of slats areriveted, said chains being supported upon sprockets secured to shafts mounted in the frame 93. The outer shaft will be connected by any suitable means to the machine that is to be supplied with stock, so that said apron will move according to the demands of the machine to be supplied. In practice, the upper stretch of the apron will be supported at intermediate points so that it cannot sag.

Mounted in the frame 93 above the apron 96 is a presser-board 97 which may be of either wood or metal, and which is provided with a series of forwardly-projecting teeth or points to retain the fibers that have been compressed between the board 97 and the upper stretch of the feed apron. This presserboard 97 forms the upper wall of a chamber or passage, the lower wall or bottom of which consists of the upper stretch of the apron 96, and the fiber is pressed into this space or chamber, the height of which may be determined by vertically adjusting the presser 97 The material which drops from the scale pan 82 falls between inclined walls indicated by dotted lines 98, said walls practically forming two of the walls of a hopper, and the other two walls of which consist of the frame plates 93. An oscillating compressor 99 acts upon the material which falls into the hopper and compresses it in the space or chamber between the apron 96 and the resser-board 97. Said compressor is oscilated through substantially three-fourths of a revolution, and it preferably consists of a series of thin metal blades curved to substantially the form shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and projecting from a roll mounted in the frame plates 93, said roll having a pinion 100 at one end outside of the frame 93. Of course the lower end of one wall of the hopper is slotted to permit the blades of the compressor 99 to pass. .With this formation of the blades projecting from a circular oscillating surface, the fibers that are taken up in each vibration are held in the recess formed by the concave edges of the blades so that the fibers are prevented from being forced with undue friction against the opposite ,side of the hopper. Said form of the blades moreover, enables them to readily detach the fibers from the mass of stock.

Fig. 2.

above, so that the blades can carry the fibers forward and downward and compress them into the chamber below the presser-board 97.

The oscillating compressor is actuated by a toothed segment 101 which meshes with the pinion 100, said toothed segment being mounted upon a rock-shaft 102. Said rockshaft is provided with an arm 103 (see Fig. 1) connected by a link 104 to the crank-pin 35. Consequently said rock-shaft is in continuous operation. Secured upon the shaft 102, by a key or feather, is a sleeve 105 (see Fig. 7) said sleeve having clamped on one end thereof a split collar 106, said collar having a lug 107. Loosely mounted on the sleeve 105 is a collar 108 having a laterally projecting pin 109, and provided also with a lug 110 in which a screw 111 is mounted in position so that its end will oppose the face of the lug 107. A spring 112-is coiled about the sleeve 105 and has one end connected to thein 109 of the collar 108, the other end of saic spring being connected with a pin 113 projecting laterally from the hub of the segment 101. One of the spokes of the segment is formed with an abutment 114 which is adapted to be engaged by an arm 115projecting from the rock-shaft 102. The segment is provided with a tappet arm 116, the purpose of which will be presently described. Since the segment 101 is loosely mounted on the sleeve 105, and the sleeve fixed to the shaft 102 and the collar 106 clamped on the sleeve, it will be readily understood that as the rock-shaft collar 108 and spring 112 to shift the segment 101 in one direction with a yielding pressure. In the opposite direction the segment is positively moved by means of the arm 115 engaging the abutment 114 of the segment. The connection of the parts is such that movement of the rock-shaft in a direction which would tend to separate the arm 115 from the abutment 114 will act to wind up the spring 112 or, in other words, will tend to oscillate the segment through the medium of the spring. Consequently-if there is a mass of stock at the entrance of the compression chamber under the presserboard 97 sufficient to obstruct or retard compressing movement of the blades 99, the segment, owing to its meshing with the pinion 100, will cease to move, although the rockshaft 102 will continue its full movement, the spring 1 12 permitting this. It will therefore be seen that while the u ward or rearward actuation of the oscillatmg compressor is positive, the movement in the other direction is a yielding one so that an excess of stock will prevent the segment from moving fully downward from the position shown in So long as the segment does not move downward to its full extent, the scale pan will not discharge its contents. I will now proceed to describe the means whereby this result is accomplished.

A bevel gear 117 (see Figs. 2 and 3) is mutilated that is, some of its teeth are omitted so as to form a space 118. Said gear 1.17 is adapted to mesh with a bevel pinion 119 secured on the vertical shaft 54. The bevelgear 11.7 is mounted upon a stud shaft 120 projecting from the frame of the machine, and the back thereof is weighted as at 121, and provided with a tooth 122 and a pin 123. A detent pawl 124 is pivoted at 125 to the frame of the machine, the lower arm of said pawl having a pin 126 depending therefrom, the lower end of said pin 126 being in the path of movement of the tappet arm 116 of the segment 101. To prevent said pin 126 from swinging out of position, a steadying link 127 is pivoted at 128 to the frame, and at 129 to said pin 126. This structure is such that whenever the segment is permitted to oscillate entirely downward, the tappet arm 116 engages the lower end of the pin 126 and swings the pawl 124 out from under the tooth 122 of the bevel gear 117. As soon as this occurs, the weight 121 causes the freelymounted gear 117 to oscillate far enough so that its teeth will be engaged by the constantly-rotating pinion 119, and therefore the said gear will be given a complete rotation until stopped. again by the pawl 1.24. The pin 123, during this movement of the gear 117, opens the scale pan by the means which I shall now proceed to describe.

Referring to Figs. and 3, a lever 1.30 is pivotally mounted at 131 and is provided with a toe 132 which normally lies in the path of movement of the pin 123 projecting from the gear 117 so that, when said gear is given a rotation as has just been described, the lever 130 will be shifted from the full-line position shown in Fig. 3, to the dotted-line position shown in that figure. The scale pan. is pref erably made wider at the bottom than at the top so that the stock contained therein will not adhere to the sides, or be delayed in its exit from the scale. To the lower edges of the scale pan two wings 133 are hinged so as to form the bottom of said pan. Said wings are connected by links 134 to the short arm of a lever 135 having a counter-balance 136 and formed with a pin 137 projecting under the outer end of the lever 130 (see igs. 2 and 5). Therefore, whenever the pin 123 of the gear 117 engages the toe 132 of the lever 130, the outer end of said lever 130 presses down upon the pin 137 so as to forcibly shift the lever 135 to the position shown in Fig. 4, thus opening the scale pan and permitting its contents to drop into the hopper 98. The scale pan quickly discharges its contents and the counter-balance 136 causes the wings 133 to close again, the pin 123 of the gear 117 having, in the meantime, passed from under the toe 132 of the lever 130 so that said lever 130 again returns to the position shown in Fig. 2. Also by this time, the segment 101 will have shifted so that its arm 116 will have left the pin 126 so as to permit the detent pawl 124 to return to its position so that the tooth 122 of the weighted gear 117 will engage and be stopped by the outer end of said detent pawl. The presence of the large quantity of fibrous material in the hopper will now prevent the segment from oscillating to its full extent, and therefore the detent pawl 124. will not again be removed from under the tooth 122 until the repeated operations of the compressor have disposed of the stock in the hopper. In the meantime, the transferring apron has been continuing the operation of filling the scale pan and said scale pan, when supplied with the predetermined quantity of stock, will descend sufficiently to cause the separation of the clutch members 62 and 63 in the manner hereinbefore described.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated portions of two feed rolls belonging to the machine which is to receive material from the feed apron 96. It is of course essential that the feed apron shall be positively driven, and through some connection with the machine which uses up the stock fed by said apron. In said Fig. 1 the chains to which the slats of the apron are connected extend over sprockets 138 which are secured to a shaft on one end of which is a pinion 139 meshing with. a pinion 140 secured to the shaft of the lower feed roll of the carding or other machine which is supplied by the apron 96. It is to be understoodv that I do not limit myself to the particular means shown for positively operating the feeding apron, but the structure illustrated will serve to prevent any slipping of the feeding apron, and will insure a uniform predetermined movement of the feeding apron relatively to the speed at which the carding or other machine operates. The positive feed of the apron 96 has a special utility in a feeding machine which employs a weighing or scale device. This is because it is essential that the operation of the weighing device shall be accurate and must have a certainty of operation relatively to the operation of the feed apron, and since the operation of the weighing device is controlled by the stock which is compressed in the chamber above the feed apron, it is of course necessary that the feed apron shall move without possibility of slipping. In other words, the positively-open ating feeding apron has a special utility in connection with a weighing device, the operation of which is controlled by the stock on said apron.

Having described the operation of the several parts of the machine in connection with the description of the structure of said parts, further reference to the operation of the machine as a whole will be unnecessary.

I claim 1. Ina machine for feeding fibrous mate rial, the combination with a receptaclefor the material to be fed, of a transferring apron provided with pins for engaging the fibrous material, means for positively driving said apron, an oscillating comb composed of a single blade of metal having triangular teeth alternating with the paths of movement of the pins of said apron, and means for positively oscillating said comb.

2. In a machine for feeding fibrous material, the combination with a receptacle for the material to be fed, of a transferring apron provided with pins for engaging the fibrous material, means for positively driving said apron, an oscillating comb composed of a single blade of metalhaving triangular teeth alternating with the paths of movement of the pins of said apron, and means for positively oscillating said comb, the points of said triangular teeth being curved toward the pins on the apron and in a direction to oppose the direction in which the material is carried by the apron pins.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a transferring apron having pins, of means for positively driving said apron, an oscillating comb having triangular and curved teeth, intersecting the path of movement of the apron pins a striplping comb having a serrated edge formed wit recesses to permit the passage of the pins of the apron, and means for oscillating said combs.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a receptacle for the fibrous material, of a transferring apron, means for positively driving said apron, a comb for stripping the fibers from the apron, a scale for weighing the fibers discharged from the apron, said scale being provided with a hinged bottom, means for automatically opening the bottom, a feed apron, and means controlled by the stock upon said apron for opening the bottom of the scale.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a receptacle for the fibrous material, of a transferring apron, a preparing comb, a stripping comb, a weighing scale, a positively-driven feed apron, and means for controllin the discharge from the scale according to tIie stock upon the feed apron.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a receptacle for the fibrous material, of means including a weighing device for delivering material from said receptacle, a feeding apron, means for positively operating said feeding apron, and connections whereby the stock on the apron will control the operation of the weighing device.

fibers on the apron, a stripping comb, a

weighing mechanism including a scale pan and feed apron, and means for positively driving it, a compressor, and means for advancing the compressor yieldingly and retracting it positively.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a feed apron, of a board above said apron to cooperate with the apron in forming a compressing chamber, a compressor movable toward and from one end of said chamber, and means for advancing the compressor yieldingly and retracting it 'positivel;

. 10. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a feed apron, of a board above said apron to cooperate with the apron in forming a compressing chamber, said board having points extending into the chamber to retain the fibers pressed therein, a compressor movable toward and from one end of said chamber, and means for advancing the compressor yieldingly and retracting it positively.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination withv the transferring apron, of a preparing comb and a stripping comb, each of said combs being carried by a rock shaft and the rock shafts being provided with arms, a link connecting the arms of the two rock shafts, and means for oscillating one of the rock-shafts, and through said link oscillating the other rock-shaft.

12. In a machine of the character described, a transferring apron, means for driving said apron, said means including a shaft over which the apron passes, a bevel gear on said shaft, a constantly-driven shaft having a pinion loosely mounted thereon,

said pinion meshing with said gear and havmeans for continuously actuating said oscillating arm, and means operated by the weighing device for causing said oscillating arm to actuate the clutch-shifting lever.

14. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a weighing device and means for delivering material thereto, of means including a clutch for operating said delivering means, a clutch-operating lever having two pawls, a pivoted arm and means for continuously oscillating it, said oscillating arm being adapted to cooperate with one of said pawls, a fixed stop to cooperate with the other pawl, and means controlled by the weighing device for permitting the pawls to swing so as to engage the oscillating arm and said fixed stop.

15. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a weighing device and means for delivering material thereto, of means including a clutch for actuating said delivering means, a clutch-operating lever having two pawls, and a pawl-retaining latch and carrying also a lever provided with a pin extending across the upper portions of said pawls, a pivoted arm, and means for continuously oscillating it, said arm having a tooth adapted to engage one of said pawls when the latter is in one position, a fixed stop to cooperate udth the other pawl, and a connection between said weighing device and the pawl-releasing lever whereby downward movement of the weighing device will release the pawls and cause the oscillating arm to disengage the clutch members.

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a scale pan wider at its bottom than at the top, ofl

hinged wings for closing the bottom, and means for automatically opening said wings.

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a scale pan having a hinged bottom, of a lever for controlling the movements of said hinged bottom, normally-inactive means for actuating said lever to cause it to open the scale pan, a compressor for acting on the material discharged from the pan, and means controlled by the movements of said compressor for bringing said normally-inactive means into operation.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a scale pan having a hinged bottom, of a lever for controlling the movements of said hinged bottom, normally-inactive means for actuating said lever to cause it to open the scale pan, a compressor for acting on the material discharged from the pan, and means controlled by the movements of said compressor for bringing said normally-inactive means into operation, said means comprising a mutilated gear having a pin to engage said lever and having a stop tooth and a weight, a driving shaft having a pinion to operate said gear, a detent to engage the tooth of the gear, and an oscillating tappet to remove the detent when the compressor moves to its extreme position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL C. FISHER.

Witnesses P. W. PEZZETTI, O. F. BROWN. 

